A Broken Ankle & The Tennis Circuit
by Jenna D
Summary: Horrible title, I know. Just a little romantic tidbit I cooked up.


A Broken Ankle & the Tennis Circuit  
  
Kari yawned. "They should have been back ages ago Tai," she said. "What's taking them?"  
  
"I don't know Kari," Tai sighed. "They haven't e-mailed anything either."  
  
"I hope they're okay," said Kari. "And I wish I could have gone with them."  
  
"Not with your ankle like that," Gatomon reprimanded. She was curled up on Kari's lap.  
  
Kari had broken her left ankle a few days ago, after a short but painful fall down the stairs at school. Luckily T.K. and Davis had been with her, and while T.K. stayed with Kari, Davis went and got the secretary to call the hospital. Kari wasn't allowed to walk for a week, and after that she'd still have to use crutches for a while. A unanimous decision was made that it wouldn't be safe for her to go to the Digital World either; a decision Kari loathed. So while Yolei, Davis, Cody, T.K. and Izzy went to Digworld, Tai stayed home with Kari. Their dad was working late and their mom was visiting their grandmother for a few days.   
  
Kari flipped the channels on the T.V. and yawned again. Nothing on T.V. Nothing to do. Kari had finished all the homework T.K. had brought, she'd sat through an endless parade of people with get-well cards, and allowed them to scrawl a signature on her cast, she'd hung out with T.K. and the others for a while before they went off to DigiWorld. They left at four, and it was seven o'clock now. She decided to take a nap. "Tai, I'm going to sleep," Kari told her brother.   
  
"All right." Tai went and got a blanket for Kari and by the time he was back she'd fallen asleep. Gatomon jumped off Kari and wandered into the kitchen, probably to try and start a fight with Miko. Tai smiled as he put the blanket over his sister, and for a moment he stroked her hair. Suddenly the doorbell rang, and Tai went to answer it. "Hey Sora. Quiet, Kari just fell asleep."  
  
"Okay. How is she Tai?" Sora asked quietly.   
  
"Bored, to say the least," Tai said.   
  
"You know what?" said Sora after a small awkward silence. "What you said to me is exactly what you said when I came over after Kari was born."  
  
"Huh? Oh yeah, I remember that." Tai laughed a little. "Except I was bored, not Kari."  
  
"She was a little cutie," Sora remembered.   
  
"Still is as long as I'm concerned," Tai smiled. "Come sit down. Want anything?"  
  
"No thanks... actually, we have to talk," she said, sitting in the armchair.   
  
Tai felt a little weird. 'Oh dear... nothing good ever came out of a conversation that started with "We have to talk." I wonder what she's got up her sleeve,' Tai thought nervously. "About what?"   
  
"Well..." 'How do I say this, sheesh, I had it all planned out,' she thought. "Something I might do..."  
  
Tai gulped. He could of sworn his eyes would have bugged out had he not forced them not to. 'Oh great. This is great.'  
  
But a thump was heard from Tai's room. He and Sora ran in to find Yolei, Davis, Izzy and Cody in a heap on the floor, with their Digimon among them.   
  
"Finally, you're back," Tai said. "Be quiet, Kari's asleep."  
  
"And it's late, I think you'd all better go home," Sora added. "You can tell us all about it tomorrow."  
  
"Good, let's go home Davis," Demiveemon said. "I'm hungry!"  
  
Everyone silently walked to the door. Tai opened it to let them out and was face to face with... 'June Motomiya. Great...' he thought. 'Just the person I wanted to see.' Demiveemon, Patamon, Upamon and Poramon hid in the closet.   
  
"Aww, June, what are you doing here?" Davis whined.   
  
"I could ask you the same thing," June said.   
  
"I think we'll go," Cody whispered to Yolei.   
  
"Right. Bye guys," Yolei said. "Coming T.K.?"  
  
"No, I'm going to Matt's tonight," said T.K. "I'll leave in a while." He backed away from the hallway.  
  
"I'm going now," Izzy said. "Bye."  
  
Upamon and Poramon slipped out between June's feet without her noticing. Everyone said bye to Izzy, Yolei and Cody, then Davis got annoyed at his sister again.  
  
"Well June? Why are you here?" Davis prompted.  
  
"I was here to talk to Tai, but I guess I'll have to take you home first," she muttered.   
  
Tai raised an eyebrow at Sora, and told June, "Uh, June, just take Davis home. It's getting late and I can't have anyone else over. Whatever you want to talk about will have to wait, sorry."   
  
"Oh, all right," June said dejectedly. "Come on Davis."  
  
Demiveemon jumped in Davis' pocket before he left. "Bye guys," Davis said. "Tell Kari I say hi!"  
  
"Okay Davis, see ya later." Tai shut the door and Patamon flew out from the closet and sat on T.K.'s head. "Finally. They're gone. No, you're still here T.K. When do you have to be back?"  
  
"When Matt notices I'm gone? I dunno," said T.K.   
  
"Doesn't Matt have a rehearsal T.K.?" Patamon asked.  
  
"I think so..."  
  
Sora looked at Tai with a 'we still need to talk' look in her eye. "Um, Kari's asleep on the couch, if you want to see her. Sora and I will be outside if you need us," Tai said. Tai led Sora to the balcony and slid the doors behind them.  
  
T.K. sat beside Kari and just stared at her for a while. Patamon flew off to find Gatomon. But Kari didn't look to pleased as she slept. Kari moved her head back and forth with a pained expression on her face. T.K. narrowed his eyes inquisitively. 'Maybe she's having a dream,' he thought. T.K. gently took her hand and waited until her eyes fluttered open. Kari took a deep shaky breath. "Kari? Are you okay?"  
  
"Wha?... T.K.?... I'm fine... bad dream... what are you doing here?" she gasped.  
  
"We're back. Everyone else has gone home, and Tai's outside. Are you sure you're okay?" he asked. "What was the dream about?"  
  
"I can't remember. But it was really freaky... oh now I know," Kari said. "Remember when I went to Digiworld after school that one day? That happened, and the Scubamon actually took me down to their master and I was supposed to be his slave, and then I almost drowned." A tear ran down her cheek. "It was horrible."  
  
"But it's over now Kari and nobody is going to do anything to you as long as I'm around," T.K. told her firmly. "You know that. It was just a dream." T.K. gently wiped the tears off Kari's face.   
  
"I know it was just a dream, but," Kari sniffed, "you know I'm... special. What if my dream actually happens? Then what?"  
  
"Then Gatomon, Patamon and I will come rescue you, just like we did before," T.K. assured her.   
  
"Right!" Patamon and Gatomon chorused.  
  
"Don't worry," he said.  
  
"I'll try..." Kari trailed off.  
  
Meanwhile, Sora and Tai were on the balcony, in the midst of an awkward conversation.  
  
"That's still not what you wanted to talk about, is it Sora?" asked Tai.   
  
"No..."  
  
"Then why don't you just say it?" Tai exploded. They'd been out there for almost half an hour, and Sora had brought up every subject from Math homework to television. "Sora, if it's so important, just say it! I won't be any angrier than if you don't tell me at all."  
  
Sora bit her lower lip, a pained expression on her face. "Tai, don't be mad at me, please."   
  
"Sora I'm not mad at you," Tai said quietly. "I'm just getting frustrated because I know that you need to tell me something really important, but you're avoiding it. Please tell me."  
  
Sora leaned on the railing of the balcony and stared at the ground. "I might be leaving for a few months."  
  
"Where are you going?" Tai asked.   
  
She looked towards Tai and smiled. "I may be going on the amateur tennis circuit. I'd be travelling around the world playing against some of the best."  
  
"That's amazing Sora! Why did you wait so long to tell me?" Tai exclaimed.   
  
"Because I'm not sure if I want to go."  
  
"Not want to go? Sora, as far as I'm concerned you're the best tennis player in the world!" he told her. "How could you not go, and meet people that are almost as great as you?"  
  
"If not better," Sora retorted. "What if I'm the worst one there?"  
  
"But what if you're the best?" he suggested, putting a hand on her shoulder.  
  
"I'm not. I can't go. I'm too scared," Sora said. "I wouldn't be able to face anyone."  
  
"You do every day at practice-"  
  
"But it's the same people, I know their weaknesses and strengths, I can beat them. But I don't know anything about the others," she protested.   
  
"So you learn about them, take the time to get to know them, make new friends, have a great time," Tai told her. He put a hand on each of Sora's shoulders and turned her so she faced him. "It's a great opportunity."  
  
Sora smiled and looked downwards. Tai watched her intently with a very pleased smile. "I'll miss you Tai."  
  
"I'll miss you too," he replied. "When would you leave?"  
  
"Three weeks."   
  
"So soon?" he asked.   
  
"And I'll spend most of that time training," she admitted, looking up at him.   
  
"No matter what place you come in, I'll be very proud of you," Tai decided. He pulled Sora to him and held her close. "You're gonna be the best Sora, I can feel it."   
  
"Thank you Tai."  
  
"What for?"   
  
"For being so wonderful."  
  
"I'm not that great," he joked. "Come in, you must be freezing. I can see your breath." Tai and Sora went back inside, and saw Kari, asleep on the couch, and T.K. leaning against the side of the couch, also asleep. He held one of her hands in hers. Gatomon had snuggled up on Kari's lap again, and Patamon snoozed in T.K.'s hat on the floor.   
  
"Look at them," Sora whispered. "That is just the sweetest thing I've ever seen."  
  
"Yeah... I don't mind T.K. being with Kari," Tai murmured. "I really trust him to watch out for her if I'm not there... great, it's almost eight o'clock. I'll try calling Matt." Sora sat at the Kamiya's kitchen table while Tai punched in Matt's number. "Hey, Matt?... I'd think he'd be home before you Mr. Ishida... Yeah... Well, T.K.'s over here... yeah... he's fine... he said he was staying at your place... Really?... Oh dear... Okay... I will... Thanks... Bye." He hung up. "Mr. Ishida says he had no idea T.K. was supposed to go over there."  
  
"That's because I lied." T.K. had woken up and was standing near the couch with a pained expression on his face. Patamon sat on the back of the couch. "I lied to my mom and you about it. I'm sorry."  
  
"Why T.K.?" asked Sora.  
  
T.K. blinked back tears. "I-I feel like it's my fault Kari fell down the stairs. I don't want to leave her..."  
  
"T.K. it's not your fault," Patamon said.   
  
"I know... it's rarely my fault when something happens to Kari-"  
  
"It never is T.K.," Sora told him.   
  
"Okay then..." said T.K. "I know it's stupid to believe anything he says, but Davis always blames me when something happens to Kari. All the time. She gets stuck in Digiworld, it's my fault, she gets kidnapped by an evil Digimon, it's my fault... she breaks her ankle and it's my fault, according to Davis. Why does he hate me?"  
  
A small pause followed. "I know," Sora announced. "He hates you because of Kari."  
  
"What does Kari have to do with it?" Tai asked.   
  
"Everything. T.K., you like Kari right?"   
  
T.K. nodded. "Of course."  
  
"Well, Davis is jealous of you T.K., because in his eyes Kari hates him and loves you, ergo he hates you and loves Kari. He's trying to do everything he can to make himself look like the hero and you look like the bad guy, but thankfully Kari's smart enough to see through that," Sora explained. "It's also why he never says your name right. He knows what it is, he's just showing a lot of disrespect. Get it?"  
  
T.K. sighed. "I can't believe I didn't see that... so what do I do?"  
  
"When Davis is bugging you, ignore the names and stuff, and do whatever you feel is right," Sora suggested.   
  
T.K. looked at Kari. "What about her?"  
  
Tai smiled. "She does like you a lot T.K. You don't have anything to worry about. Except that Matt should be here soon to take you home."  
  
"All right... hey, what were you and Sora talking about, if you don't mind me asking." T.K. said.  
  
"Sure, I'll tell you T.K.," Sora said with a smile. "I'm going on the amatuer tennis circuit soon, to play against some of the best in the world. I'll find out my world ranking."  
  
"Cool Sora! What's a tennis circuit?" Patamon said. Sora explained it to him. "Ahhh... I get it now."  
  
"That's great! Congratu-" T.K. was cut off by the doorbell. Tai ran to answer it.   
  
"Hey Matt, come in," Tai said, anwering the door. "T.K.!"  
  
"Just a sec!" T.K. gave Sora a look, she winked and went outside. T.K. knelt next to Kari and gently kissed her cheek. "Bye," he whispered before going to the door, Patamon on his head.   
  
"T.K., if Mom ever finds out about this she'll kill both of us and Dad. Come on," Matt said. "Bye Tai."  
  
"Bye Tai," said T.K. and Patamon.   
  
"See ya later guys." Tai shut the door and then checked on Kari. Sora came back in from outside just as Kari woke up.  
  
"Hey, where's T.K.?" she mumbled.  
  
"He had to go home," Tai murmured. "Did you have a nice sleep?"  
  
"Yeah..."  
  
"Me too," said Gatomon, stretching. "You have a very comfy lap Kari."  
  
Kari laughed. "Thanks, I guess... Hey, Sora when did you get here?"   
  
"While you were asleep," she explained. "But I have to get going, it's nearly nine o'clock. Hope you're better soon Kari."   
  
"Thanks Sora," she answered.   
  
Tai walked her to the door. "Bye Sora."  
  
"Bye Tai. I won't forget to tell coach I'm going on that trip," she said. They stood in the hallway with the door shut.   
  
"I'll remind you every day until you do," Tai joked.  
  
"Are you trying to get rid of me or something?" Sora asked indignantly.   
  
" 'Course not... If you didn't have a good reason for leaving I'd handcuff myself to you so we wouldn't be apart," he said. Sora's face softened and she very abruptly hugged Tai. "The only reason I want you to go is because I know you're the best."  
  
"Oh Tai... I'll keep in touch. The Internet is wonderful, you know," Sora told him.  
  
"So are you."  
  
"Thank you Tai," she whispered, looking up at him. Tai's eyes suddenly got a very serious look in them and butterflies began dancing in Sora's stomach. He brought a hand to her face and gently touched her cheek, then leaned his face close to hers and kissed her. Sora closed her eyes and kissed back. The butterflies in her stomach drifted away as they ended the kiss.   
  
"You're welcome Sora," Tai murmured. "I'll see you later."  
  
"Yeah," Sora said quietly. She started down the hallway, turned and smiled at Tai as she waited. "Bye!" she called before disappearing into the elevator.   
  
"Bye," Tai whispered. He went back into his apartment and shut the door behind him. "Woah."  
  
~**~The End~**~  
  
Well then. That one may or may not continue, I'm not sure. Hope you liked it.  



End file.
